(Northern Region- Gobrean Jungle)
"Fuck… I made a mistake," Xu Lu muttered as she backed away from the cloud of purple gas that was spreading throughout the forest.
She held her breath and tried not to inhale just in case the gas was poisonous.
She had just wanted to scare Shen Guo at first which is why her initial strike only scraped his neck.
But then when he dropped the vial… her instincts took over.
Years of training as Camilla's bodyguard meant that if there was a threat to her safety… she removed it.
Immediately.
The shaking of the ground got even worse until Xu Lu struggled to stay standing. She had no idea what was happening but it didn't sound good.
Just as she turned around to run, a monstrous creature burst out of the undergrowth and raced towards her location.
The beast was a purple tiger, and it possessed a pair of dark wings almost like that of a raven that sprouted out from the top of its back.
Xu Lu readied her sword and prepared to strike when another monster burst out of a nearby clump of grass.
Then another… then another… then another…
The animals' pupils were all dilated, their mouths dripped with saliva, and they kept sniffing the air.
One by one their eyes turned towards Xu Lu.
She had been standing near Shen Guo when the vial broke and most of the purple gas still lingered around her body.
The saintess looked at the monsters.
The monsters looked at her.
There was a brief moment of silence as both sides did not make the first move.
"Gentlemen…" Xu Lu calmly spoke and broke the tense atmosphere.
"I believe that we may come to an agreement that will not involve you eating me."
She pointed at the corpse on the ground and then stepped away to invite the hungry monsters to feast on Shen Guo's remains.
There was a moment of silence.
Then…
ROARR!!!
Xu Lu's figure blurred and then vanished from the spot as she ran with all the strength that she could muster.
Clearly the monsters did not accept her peace offering!
Xu Lu glanced behind her and saw a monkey-like creature swinging on the vines and laughing at her with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.
She swung her blade and a burst of sword qi erupted from the tip of her weapon. The monkey giggled and then slapped away the wave of sword light.
It scratched its hairy behind using its large, oversized hand and then flung a brown mass of goo in Xu Lu's direction.
Was that?
Xu Lu hurriedly dodged out of the way just as a pile of rancid shit landed where her head had been just moments ago.
"You nasty motherfuc…" Xu Lu cursed loudly as she darted between a group of tress that were tightly clumped together.
The monkey-like monster was forced to the ground and it beat its chest in anger. Xu Lu continued to run but somehow the group of animals began to catch up.
She spread out her spiritual senses and detected at least twenty monsters in her nearby surroundings.
What to do? What to do?
It didn't take a genius to realise that Shen Guo must have unleashed a monster attracting pheromone or a substance with a similar effect.
How could she get rid of the smell?
Xu Lu ducked a large needle-like spine lodged itself in a tree. The spine had landed mere inches away from her neck.
The saintess kept running even deeper into the jungles and was forced to deal with vines, thorny bushes and other objects that slowed her down.
At least these obstacles also posed a problem to the monsters hunting her down since their massive bodies were ill equipped to move through the depths of the jungle.
Xu Lu turned around to get a sense of the distance between herself and the monsters and nearly tripped over a root that was poking out from beneath a massive oak.
She was forced to reach out with her hand and grab a green vine hanging on the tree's trunk to prevent herself from falling.
Wait… why did the vine feel slimy?
Xu Lu glanced at the vine and saw a snake staring back at her. It appeared to be an ordinary animal since its eyes did not hold any trace of bloodlust.
The saintess slowly removed her hand and then continued to run. She heard a faint hissing noise coming from behind her, but the snake did not pursue.
Finally, the vibrations on the ground got fainter and fainter as she gained more distance.
Xu Lu let out a heavy sigh of relief when she could no longer detect any nearby enemies using her spiritual senses.
Squeak! Squeak!
The little mouse in her pocket poked its head out and made a series of cute noises.
"Oh? Are you okay little one?" Xu Lu asked gently as she patted the mouse's head and checked its eyes for any signs of bloodlust.
The mouse appeared to be fine except…
Xu Lu blinked twice, and the strange sight was gone.
For a moment she could swear that black markings appeared on her animal companion's back, but they disappeared as soon as she tried to get a closer look.
Was she just imagining the markings?
Xu Lu shook her head and tossed those strange thoughts to the back of her mind.
Clearly, she was under a great deal of stress at the moment, and it was making her brain see things.
Still… it wouldn't hurt just to make sure.
"You aren't some demon, right?" Xu Lu whispered softly as she plastered a stern expression on her face.
"You have to tell me or else…"
Squeak! Squeak!
The little white mouse yawned sleepily and then went back to bed as if it had not heard Xu Lu's question.
What am I doing?
Xu Lu laughed quietly to herself as she touched the top of the white mouse's head and then stretched out her arms.
She looked around and saw that she was now standing at the edge of what appeared to be a clearing.
Strange white mushrooms grew along the edges of the clearing and Xu Lu could spot tiny ants marching along the fungi.
She reached into her robe and pulled out a compass and the map.
Xu Lu consulted the compass for a few seconds and then began to walk in a northwestern direction.
She wasn't sure if the effects of the purple gas were still present but no monsters appeared so she could only assume that it had expired.
The saintess walked for around twenty minutes while enjoying the natural beauty of the Gobrean Jungle.
There was an inherent wildness and savagery to this place. Untouched by human hands or the traces of civilisation there was a primordial splendor to this forest.
Xu Lu always enjoyed walking through nature.
She could remember going for walks with Camilla through the forest that surrounded their castle.
Finally after what seemed like hours, Xu Lu arrived at a large flat plain that extended for several kilometres.
The plain seemed out of place surrounded by the lush forest environment. There was not even a single blade of grass growing on its soil.
The entire area had a feeling of… wrongness.
Nothing alive was present here as if the mere existence of life was aberrant to the black soil that made up the vast plain.
Xu Lu stepped onto the plain and her feet sank a few inches into the black sand.
A serious expression flashed across her face as she felt someone… or something watching her.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel